Halloween special

halloween

It was one hour before sunset when I reached Hook Head. I wanted to take a few pictures of  Loftus Hall and Hook lighthouse for this blog. I mentioned Hook Lighthouse in my blog post about Dunmore East and the oyster farm, because it is visible from there, and also in my Saltee Island posts –  for the same reason. Great location for a lighthouse, isn’t it?

But you have never heard from me about Loftus Hall before.

HookHead

Loftus Hall is haunted. The origins of paranormal activity go back to 1350 when the prominent Redmond family built the Redmond Hall in this exact place. You can do a quick calculation, and yes, it was 666 years ago.

Centuries later, the unfortunate events took place. After Cromwellian confiscation, the Redmonds were evicted and the Loftus family moved into the house in 1666. The mansion was renamed Loftus Hall. Another century later, Charles Tottenham, whose first wife was Anne Loftus, resided in the house with his second wife and his daughter from his first marriage, also named Anne.

During a stormy night, a young man came to the house to seek shelter, and was offered hospitality. Young Anne was charmed and the relationship between the two progressed into something more prohibited.

One night they were playing cards and Anne dropped a card and bent to pick it up. It is when she saw that her lover had a cloven hoof. When his identity was discovered the young man went up through the roof leaving a hole that could never be repaired.

PS Similar story has been told about another haunted place, notorious Hellfire Club hunting lodge situated on Montpelier Hill near Dublin. Guess what?  The Loftus family also owned a hunting lodge on Montpelier Hill – Dolly Mount.

loftus hall

After discovering that Anne was pregnant, the family locked her away in the Tapestry Chamber, where she died in 1675, refusing to take neither food nor water. They say that skeletal remains of an infant were found hidden between the walls when the house was rebuilt. There were many seeings of Anne’s ghost and all kind of paranormal attacks on innocent people reported over the years, and several unsuccessful exorcisms were performed. The most successful was Father Thomas Broaders who, at least, ‘banished the Devil from Loftus Hall’.

loftus hall

Loftus Hall changed hands many times. In 1870-71, the old Loftus Hall was heavily rebuilt by the 4th Marquess of Ely, and the present mansion took its place. In 1917, it was bought by the Sisters of Providence and became a convent. I saw a photograph with a group of happy nuns at the front entrance. The Hall was sold after two nuns mysteriously died on the stairs. In 1983 the Deveraux family bought the place and reopened it as Loftus Hall Hotel that was closed in less than ten years. All the hotel interior, pretty vandalised and decayed, is still there. In 2011 the place was sold to its current owners, the Quigley family who are running the haunted house tours. As far as I understand, many rooms still remain unused.

loftus hall

The gate is locked unless it is a tour day.

loftus hall

No, I didn’t take the tour. My friend did, I think she paid €60, no photography allowed. Why would I need a tour without being able to take pictures! She had a crucifix pendant on her and didn’t feel anything paranormal :). Her then boyfriend did feel some paranormal presence. They had some sort of séance to communicate with spirits, and it was quite impressive. Overall, she was happy with the tour, just thought it wasn’t worth €60 for an hour or something. Well, it was her fault, she shouldn’t bring that backup crucifix if she wanted to get scared 🙂

I couldn’t come any closer, just took some pictures on my way to and from the Hook Head. I don’t know if it means something, but I have already seen exactly the same cloud formations over the Loftus Hall in the photographs I found in Google. Also, when you click on the picture to enlarge it, you will see the drapes hanging from an opened window. Creepy 🙂

loftus hall

To get an idea about the haunted house, watch this short video taken in 2014 or just put Loftus Hall in your search, but don’t miss the chance to see it all with your own eyes 🙂

There are many well-preserved ruins in the Hook Peninsula, and also many abandoned rural houses. I took pictures of some. This is a ruin of a church and a Roman tower in Templetown village. Henry II granted the church to the Catholic Military Order of Knights Templar in 1172. The Templars held a large chunk of land around the Waterford harbour until 1307 when they were suppressed and their property and land transferred to the Knights Hospitaller who themselves were suppressed in 1541. You can read an intriguing story about Irish Masonic history in this website.

hook head

William Marshal, a Knights Templar known as the Greatest Knight, built the lighthouse tower in the 13th century to guide the ships through the Waterford Harbour and to his port Ross. The monks looked after it until the dissolution of the monasteries. The lighthouse was already there since 1172, built by a Norman Raymond le Gros who used a mixture of mud and bullock’s blood to hold the limestone together. There is a legend that a Welsh monk St Dubhan built the first warning beacon in this site in the 5th century.

The tower was restored and repainted over the centuries. In the 17th century it came into the possession of the Loftus family, but in 1706 Henry Loftus leased the tower to the authorities. In 1860 three red bands were painted on the tower, but later changed to black and reduced to two. The cannon gun was fired during fog, later replaced by a hooter, then by rockets. In 1972 a foghorn was installed, but decommissioned in 2011.

In 1996 the lighthouse was automated and the light keepers left after almost 800 years of service.

hook lighthouse

The evening was very warm and still with no breeze whatsoever.  These two chairs wouldn’t be left here in stormy weather: the sea spray can reach as high as the balcony of the lighthouse in a bad storm.

hook head

After wandering around the lighthouse I was on my way to the parking lot and saw the chairs again.

hook head

Then I saw this baby with California license plate. How on earth? 🙂

I walked to my car, and took a picture because I think it looks quite cool too 😉

When I was already heading home, I took a wrong turn and came to the Slade harbour in the dark. Slade castle belonged to the Templars, Hospitallers and the Loftus family at the different stages of its existence. Now the ruin looks quite out of place in the changed landscape.

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I took pictures of some abandoned creepy buildings with a hope to find a ghost in them. No such luck.

hook head

However, I have managed to take a picture of a ghost when it was the least expected 🙂

Happy Halloween! These dark tulips are hosting a tiny spider which makes them an appropriate gift for the occasion. At this special time of the year, please visit and follow sweet monster Dead Donovan and mystical and charming Poet Rose.

Eat candy, have fun, stay safe!

inesemjphotography Have an exciting weekend!

150 comments

  1. My bones are rattling from such a scary tale of Loftus Hall. I couldn’t watch the first YouTube video; it flashed this message: “This video contains content from Scripps, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds.” I did find another one about the dark stranger, and I shivered listening to the other stories, as well!

    Your creativity, with those dark and lovely ghostly photos, is most impressive, Lady Inese! Thank you very much for the nod to my blog. I am honored and ecstatic. Happy Halloween!!! ❤

    1. Oh no!!!!! That’s ridiculous. It is a Youtube page, for everyone. I have no words 😦 I will try to find something else to entertain you. Happy Halloween, my dear friend!

      1. No worries! There are other YouTube videos of Loftus Hall. Besides, your charming posts keep me quite entertained, dear Inese. Happiest of Halloweens!

        ~PR

    1. Thank you so much, Derrick. Actually, there are three people. One lady sits on the ground. I came from the other side of the lighthouse and used the opportunity :). It was a difficult task, because the lady on the ground didn’t sit still, and made a very strange addition to the silhouettes. She annoyed me a lot 🙂

  4. The imaginings of the human mind really make life worth living…a lover with a ‘cloven hoof’ and the tale that unfolds is sublime. Folklore and Ireland really go hand in hand in a magical way.

          1. Of course, illness and nightmares…nasty twins. Many years back I had meningitis, boy did I have some horrible dreams. Hope you’re on the mend.

              1. Was yours eventful? Looking back mine was…although didn’t seem that way at the time! The ambulance didn’t tie me down so I fell unto the floor when they went round a roundabout, then the hospital put me in a darkened room, the staff changed shift and I was forgotten about for 2 hours wearing just the sheet they covered me with (my wife went mad when she found out). Then, 4 attempts at the lumber puncture! What a joy all that was!

                1. Totally surreal! No, my wasn’t THAT eventful :). But… I had that puncture, with several attempts, and a lady student fainted, and I couldn’t move my legs the following day… and the following month too. I was in the hospital from July to October. You were lucky to be married. I was all alone, 22 years old girl.

                2. Terrible thing to happen to you alone. My wife was looking after George at home as he was only about 4 or 5, so you can imagine her mood when she got to the hospital after finding someone to look after the lad. That lumber thing is awful though, at least my legs worked. Trust you had no long term issues.

                5. You’ve been there, so you’ve seen a lot. Hospital experiences changed my perspective on life, and out of all the grief I witnessed grew compassion.

                6. For me, I think it was humour. Oddly, I can date back my surreal take on life from that episode. When I thought I might snuff I distinctly remember not being too bother save for the fact that I had not told Shirl where the key documents well have were kept etc. Funny old thing is life and death.

                7. You were mature enough to think about death and your responsibilities 🙂 My only though was ‘what is happening?’ but I have seen people die, and it was surreal indeed.

                8. Truly, the ‘cold black sea’ (Lou Reed’s words, not mine) only worry me in the context of those left behind. People generally think me odd.

  5. William Marshal? He’s super famous. Even I’ve heard of him. I’ve always had an interest in him ever since I heard the story about his being held hostage by King Stephen, who nevertheless refused to harm him when William’s father broke his oath. It always made me think rather better of Stephen, even though I know he’s often cited as one of England’s worst kings.

    1. Yes, that’s him. He owned large estates in Ireland, particularly around Waterford Harbour – highly strategic area, perfect for trade and all. Since he died in the early 13th century, I guess that the lighthouse was one of his latest projects.

  8. Wonderful post for the Halloween Ms inese. Thanks for the magnificent tour w/photographs.
    You are a master craftsman …
    e-hug for your 🙂
    g

  9. This post actually gave me the creeps, Inese. The photos of Loftus Hall are close enough for me. The birds, the sky, the curtain are all eerie. I do think that feelings stick to places, and the history of the house is intense with emotion. Wonderful Halloween post!

  11. Lovely photography, indeed. I think of the Buick Wildcat convertible “muscle car” from California parked there on your coast as one of your ghosts, certainly. Romantically noir.

    1. Isn’t it strange about that Wildcat? Who would ship such car overseas? You should see the roads in this area – I wouldn’t drive such car in the day time with all the tractors and all.

      1. All I can think of, maybe part of a movie set? But I like the ghost idea better. I can see a story arise from that, how an Irish kid ended up in California, met and married a successful actress who owned the car, how they drove around, how she committed suicide and he in turn took the car and drove it into the ocean… drowning. Then his ghost and the ghost car returned home and shows up here because, after all, it’s Halloween time and such things are allowed in the time-space continuum… Terribly Goth, I know.

        1. The car was there when I came, and it was still there when I was leaving well after the sunset. So, the ghost theory doesn’t seem unreasonable.

  14. Lovely photos of the Hook area, Inese. It’s such a special place. Son Harry and I stayed on the Penninsula around this time of year when he was about 10. Loftus Hall was all locked up and pretty derelict then. We watched a video in the B&B about it and my son still talks about it withva shudder!
    It’s great that it has been renovated as it is such an imposing building.
    Happy Halloween to you too.

    1. Jean, I posted two links, and one of them is really creepy 🙂 I would visit the house on my own in the day time, but wouldn’t go there at night even with a group because I don’t really trust the dark 🙂 I imagine what it looked like when abandoned. It is wonderful that somebody takes care, and I hope this family won’t give up on the old house.

    1. To be honest, I don’t believe it is haunted 🙂 Just creepy. Well, I have to go there myself to be sure. Who knows, it is a very old building.

  17. Wonderful post for the Halloween! I have the same feeling for having to pay for a tour but no pictures allowed. That will be putting off. The story of the haunted place is interesting. It is too bad that your friends did not find anything. That would be even more interesting to learn.

    I love your ghostly pictures and the bare small tree. They are perfect rendering work. All of them could be scenes from scary movies. You lighted up the post a bit with beautiful sun set pictures and a bit funny about the license plate.

    1. Thank you so much! The evening was so beautiful that I didn’t want to go home and drove around the peninsula 🙂 I don’t think the house is really haunted, but people say that the tour is fun. I wouldn’t go there though 🙂 I will wait until they allow photography. The tree looked scary, and there were many abandoned buildings. Great place to go if visiting Ireland. A lot to see in the area.

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